Feed-regulator.



W. L. DINBS, Jn. FEED REGULATOR APPLIOATION FILED 1930.22. 1911.

1,061,731 Patented May 13, 1913.

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.UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

WILLIAM L. DINES, JR., OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 WILLIAM L.

DINES, JR., CO., OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F MASSACHU- SETTS.

FEED-REGULATOR.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. DINEs, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Feed-Regulator, of which the following is a specification.

.The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved separator especially adapted for separating round coffee beans from flat coffee beans.'v

It is well known that round coffee beans have better ilavor than flat beans, and machines have been heretofore devised for separating the round beans from the flatones. These machines usually have consisted of a hopper in which the unsortcd beans are placed, one or more rolls, agitators or other mechanism for feeding the beans from the hopper, and an inclined running apron onto which the beans are delivered and coperating with which are spreading devices. The operation of the machine is such that the round coilfee beans are run or rolled down the inclined apron, while the flat ones will be carried up and delivered over the upper end of the apron. In operating these machines it has been found that the roll or rolls and the spreader have a.

tendency to break or smash the beans and this as well as the other devices employed adds to the expense of manufacture, maintenance, and operation of the machine.

The object of this invention is to overcome these difiiculties. l

The improvement comprises an improved form of spout or delivery from the hopper which will act to deliver the beans easily and accurately on the apron, and by the employment of'which the use of a roll or rolls and all mechanism that has to be driven by power is rendered unnecessary.

The improvements are illustrated in the accompanying sheet ofndrawingsi forming part of this application for patent, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed to embody my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a partial plan view illustrating the arrangement of`spreaders; and Fig. A is a plan Y view of the stop or choking mechanism stop the feed of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 13, 1913.

Application led December 22, 1911. Serial N o. 667,285.

designates the frame of the machine, pivoted to which by arms B is an open rectangular wooden frame C which can be set 1n diil'ercnt angular positions and held in the desired adjustmentby means of slotted arms 10 and nuts 11. Rollers D and E are journaled in said rectangular frame C, and running around the same is an endless apron F. 12 designates the driving shaft which is journaled in the frame, and which is provlded with a pulley 13, and a handle, if desired, so that the shaft can be operated by power or by` hand. On the end of the shaft is arranged a sprocket wheel 14 which communicates power by a sprocket chain 15 to a sprocket wheel 16 secured on the end of the roller D. In operation this gearing is used to drive the apron so that its upper surface will travel from right to left or upwardly as shown in the drawings.

G designates the hopper which preferably is'made out of sheet iron plates riveted together. The hopper is held in position by a frame 17 to which it is secured, and` which frame is secured to the main frame hand side of the hopper, and the exit 20 of which is at a sharp angle thereto, the parts 19 and 20 being connected by a curved section 21. The lower end of the exit section is extended to form a delivery lip 22. A bar 23 is riveted to this lip 22, and eX- tending up from the ends of the bar are rods 24 which pass through the frame 17 and threaded on which are nuts 25. The delivery lip 22 by reason of being made out of sheet metal is flexible, and by adjusting the nuts 25 its inclination can be adjusted so that the feed can be adjusted for various quantities of beans.

` -It will be noticed that the delivery spout or trough sli htly increases in size from the point where 1t leaves the hopper proper. I have found by experimentation that this form of delivery trough or outlet'will provide an accurate means for delivering the beans smoothly and nicely onto the inclined apron, and that by slight adjustments rendered possible by the construction described, the same can be used to deliver any quantity of beans.

To stop or allow the feed a wire 26 having crank-arms 27 is pivoted in the side plates 18, and is provided with a weight 28, the center of which is so set as to hold the wire 26 in its lowered or raised position. By putting the wire 26 in its lowest position as shown in Fig. 2, the feed is checked, an by raising the same to clear the delivery lip 22 the feed is allowed to take place.

Referring now to the form of separators or spreaders which are-used in connection with the running apron, 30 designates crossbars which are secured to the top of the rectangular frame C. These crossfbars are provided with ears 3l, loosely litted in which are the upper ends of the spreaders H which are made of wire of U-shape, their up er ends being threaded. Nuts 32 fare threaf ed on the ends of the spreaders. By this ar-V rangement the spreaders are normally held in position on the apron by gravity. When there is a seam the apron passes under the same, Vor when there is a choking of the beans under the spreader the same is free to lift, and this action will prevent the breaking'cf the beans. The spreaders are arranged in inclined position relatively to the apron as shown in Fig. 3, and their inclination is opposite on the end cross bars as compared with the middle cross bar. An adjustable wire 33 is also arranged close to the apron near the roll E andjust in position to upset the coffee beans that come down to it on their curved sides and to allow the round beans to pass over it.

In operation the round beans Will be very rapidly and accurately separated or sorted from the lat beans, and the construction of the hopper and the separators is such as practical y to prevent any breaking or smashing of the beans during the operation. Y

The peculiar form ofl spreaders contribute Yto the action so thatthe separation between .the at and round coiee beans is very per-A fect.

i Letters-Patent is The details and arrangements herein shown and described may be greatly varied by a skilled mechanic without departinof from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims.

Having thus fully described my4 invention, what I,claim and desire to secure by 1. As an article of manufacture, a hopper,

.and a stationary flat deliverychute extending substanitally across the bottom of the hopper and curving downwardly and reversely therefrom, and having on the reverse-portion thereof a flat sheet metal delivery lip norlilally stationary but adjustable up and down independently of the body of the chute.

2. As an article of manufacture, a hopper 'Y having slanting lower sides bent to form an l angular delivery outlet, the lower side of the upper part of which is flat and substantially in alinement with the lane of one of said slanting sides, said delivery having a sharply curved section and a flat mout-h slanting at a sharp angle to the upper part, the lower end of the mouth having a flat delivery lip extending beyond the end thereof and in the plane of the lower side of said mouth.

3. In al device of the class described, a hopper having an inclined an lar delivery outlet, and means for contro ling the feed therethrough, consisting of a wire'or rod crank-armed and journaled so that the same can be moved into and out of position.

4. In a device of the class described, 'a

hopper having an inclined angular delivery 

